This is a very odd little curio and despite my horribly low rating of 2, the film is strongly recommended for fans of the golden age of Hollywood. That's because despite being very bad and tedious, cinephiles will want to catch glimpses of some of their stars (such as Laurel and Hardy, Jack Benny, Joan Crawford and Buster Keaton) in very unusual roles.
The film is a chance to show off the new invention of talking pictures. So instead of a normal plot, the film is a bizarre showcase so that fans can finally see their MGM favorites in talking and singing roles. Oddly, many non-singers sang some god-awful numbers in the film since the movie is more like a filmed version of a talent show than a traditional movie. You even get to see Jack Benny competently play the violin for the film. It ain't great but unlike his later persona, it wasn't at all bad. What was bad was when he sang, as was singing by Joan Crawford and a couple others. Part of the problem with the singing isn't because all the stars had bad singing voices (though some did), but because the sound technology was so bad. The singing sounds exceptionally tinny and with more modern equipment, they would have sounded so much better. In fact, having everyone perform on a stage like they would at a real talent show was chosen because Hollywood still hadn't figured out how to get the sound right.
The reason I watched it was for Laurel and Hardy and Keaton. As for Stan and Ollie, they were only okay and were in way too little of the film. During the final giant production number, practically all the stars were there singing except the duo--which is odd, as Oliver Hardy had a very nice voice. Buster, on the other hand, was better simply because of his acrobatics. Seeing him so easily flip and fall was pretty amazing.
Another odd curio in the film were the Two-color Technicolor sequences. The first was a clever way to present Romeo and Juliet to modern audiences with Norma Shearer and John Gilbert hopelessly miscast as teen lovers!! The other sequence was a huge song and dance number that looked like a Busby Berkeley routine--though he didn't begin his work in Hollywood for one more year. The color sequences shown on this Turner Classic Movies release, unfortunately, looked very muddy and ugly and desperately need further restoration. Most Two-color films look almost this bad (though Hollywood REVIEW had lots of scratches that should be removed), but this primitive color process actually isn't as ugly as most people think. I've seen some amazingly beautiful Two-color films that look amazing--such as 1929 re-release of PHANTOM OF THE OPERA and the short THE TOY SHOP. It CAN look great but significant restoration is needed.
Overall, this is an interesting but amazingly dull and stagy film. The musical numbers are tedious or unintentionally funny and most of the non-singing numbers fall flat as well. Still, for a very, very unusual curio involving some of your favorite stars, I suggest you watch it and use your remote to speed through the more ponderous portions!
Finally, if you do watch, look for the horribly offensive black-face number at the beginning and the song "Old Black Joe". They're a rather sad sign of the times. Also, the Marie Dressler song isn't too bad--the words are cute. There's an amazingly slinky and practically naked dance near the end that will catch some by surprise. And finally, despite the movie SINGING IN THE RAIN, you'll see this song in a much faster and snappier version of the song "Singing in the Rain" in this film.
The film is a chance to show off the new invention of talking pictures. So instead of a normal plot, the film is a bizarre showcase so that fans can finally see their MGM favorites in talking and singing roles. Oddly, many non-singers sang some god-awful numbers in the film since the movie is more like a filmed version of a talent show than a traditional movie. You even get to see Jack Benny competently play the violin for the film. It ain't great but unlike his later persona, it wasn't at all bad. What was bad was when he sang, as was singing by Joan Crawford and a couple others. Part of the problem with the singing isn't because all the stars had bad singing voices (though some did), but because the sound technology was so bad. The singing sounds exceptionally tinny and with more modern equipment, they would have sounded so much better. In fact, having everyone perform on a stage like they would at a real talent show was chosen because Hollywood still hadn't figured out how to get the sound right.
The reason I watched it was for Laurel and Hardy and Keaton. As for Stan and Ollie, they were only okay and were in way too little of the film. During the final giant production number, practically all the stars were there singing except the duo--which is odd, as Oliver Hardy had a very nice voice. Buster, on the other hand, was better simply because of his acrobatics. Seeing him so easily flip and fall was pretty amazing.
Another odd curio in the film were the Two-color Technicolor sequences. The first was a clever way to present Romeo and Juliet to modern audiences with Norma Shearer and John Gilbert hopelessly miscast as teen lovers!! The other sequence was a huge song and dance number that looked like a Busby Berkeley routine--though he didn't begin his work in Hollywood for one more year. The color sequences shown on this Turner Classic Movies release, unfortunately, looked very muddy and ugly and desperately need further restoration. Most Two-color films look almost this bad (though Hollywood REVIEW had lots of scratches that should be removed), but this primitive color process actually isn't as ugly as most people think. I've seen some amazingly beautiful Two-color films that look amazing--such as 1929 re-release of PHANTOM OF THE OPERA and the short THE TOY SHOP. It CAN look great but significant restoration is needed.
Overall, this is an interesting but amazingly dull and stagy film. The musical numbers are tedious or unintentionally funny and most of the non-singing numbers fall flat as well. Still, for a very, very unusual curio involving some of your favorite stars, I suggest you watch it and use your remote to speed through the more ponderous portions!
Finally, if you do watch, look for the horribly offensive black-face number at the beginning and the song "Old Black Joe". They're a rather sad sign of the times. Also, the Marie Dressler song isn't too bad--the words are cute. There's an amazingly slinky and practically naked dance near the end that will catch some by surprise. And finally, despite the movie SINGING IN THE RAIN, you'll see this song in a much faster and snappier version of the song "Singing in the Rain" in this film.